Railway-torpedo.



W. C. BECKWITH.

RAILWAY TORPEDO.

APPUCATION FILED MAY 1, ms.

1,187,485. Patented June 20,1916.

DNVENTOR WALTER C. BECKWITH, 0F FOSTORIA, OHIO.

RAILWAY-TOBPEDO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 20, 1916.

Application filed May 1, 1915. Serial No. 25,300.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WALTER C. BECK- wrrrr, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Fostoria, in the county of Seneca and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Railway-Torpedo; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked -thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to railway torpedoes and particularly to those of the fiber top type.

The object of my invention is the provision of improved means for attaching the rail engaging straps of torpedoes of the character described to the explosive containing case thereof whereby to cheapen an simplify the construction and enhance the practicability and commercial value of torpedoes of this character.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a single means for both closing the ends of the explosive containing case and securing straps of an easily pliant and flexible type thereto.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, and while, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred and two modified forms thereof are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a torpedo embodying the preferred form of the invention attached to a rail. Fig. 2 is a similar enlarged view of a torpedo with the strap ends broken away. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the under side of the torpedo with the ends of the strap broken away, and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the bottom sides of torpedoes embodying different modified forms of the invention with the end portions of the straps broken away.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a case or tube for containing the explosive which may be of either tablet or loose powder form but is preferably of tablet form. The case 1 is formed of fibrous material d. 4 the strap 3 is such, for instance, as paper which is originally rolled in the form of a tube and then severed into sections, each of a length corresponding to the case, and these sections are then flattened as indicated in the drawings. The ends of the cases are preferably closed by stitching across the ends thereof, as shown at 2, to retain the explosive material therein, which feature is covered by a copending application and which therefore in itself forms no part of the present invention.

A strap 3 for securing a torpedo case on the rail may be of lead, tluminum, or other suitable pliant material, and is disposed lengthwise of the case and secured thereto adjacent to its ends by extending the stitching 2 across the strap as indicated in Fig. 8, thereby causing said stitching to perform the double function of closing the case ends and securing the strap to the case. In Fig shown as being secured to the case ends by staple members 4, which members also serve, in the present instance, in conjunction with the stitching 2, to close the case ends. In Fig. 5 the case ends are illustrated as being slitted, as at 5, and the strap 3 threaded therethrough. It is thus apparent that this manner of securing the strap to the case also serves in a way to close the case ends.

It will be understood that a securing of the strap to the case in the different manners described materially cheapens and simplifies the construction and manufacture of torpedoes of the fiber top type, as the customary base clip, which is used to secure the strap to the torpedo case is thereby eliminated.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction or arrangement of the parts as it is capable of numerous modifications without departing from the spirit of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. A railway torpedo having an open ended explosive containing case with each end portion transversely slitted completely therethrough midway of its side edges, and a strap disposed lengthwise of the case and threaded at its ends through the slits in the case end whereby the strap is held to the case and serves to close the case ends.

2; In a railway torpedo, an explosive containing case hztvlng open case; said case having transverse slits extending through 1ts end e ds, a stitching extending across each end .portion of the ,7

portions withoutsaid stitching, and a rail engaging strap disposed lengthwise of thecnse with its ends extended through said-slits and beyond the 19 endsof the case.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

WALTER C. BECKWITH.

flopierofthis patent may be obtainegi for-five cents egch, by addressing the Commissioner of lfatents,

Washington; 1). 0. 

